Fourth Circuit Temporarily Allows DOGE to Continue Dismantling USAID

The new ruling came a week after a federal district court judge blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID.

The lobby of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) headquarters in Washington on Feb. 3, 2025. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

A federal appeals court on March 25 temporarily put on hold a lower court order that blocked efforts led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to downsize the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a brief, unsigned order that the preliminary injunction issued March 18 by Maryland-based District Judge Theodore Chuang “hereby is stayed until the close of business of Thursday, March 27, 2025.”